Capital Punishment
13 Pages 3322 Words
burns the internal organs of the body and leaves them dead. During electrocution the convict may urinate, vomit blood, and have swelling, burning, and/or color changes of the skin. This method of execution is currently used by eleven states.
In a gas chamber execution, the convict is put in a sealed steel chamber. The convict is strapped to a chair that has a pan below. At the first signal a valve is opened which releases hydrochloric acid into the pan. When a second signal is given, tablets or crystals of about eight ounces of potassium cyanide is dropped into the acid. This combination creates a hydro cyanic gas. The fumes of this deadly gas rise and are inhaled by the convict, which kills them. The convict is pronounced dead and the gas is then sucked out of the chamber by big fans. Before the body is taken out it is sprayed with ammonia to neutralize any gas that may still exist on the body. Execution by the gas chamber started in an attempt to find a more humane way to carry out an execution than the electric chair. The gas ch...